DRUMMING UP A BAND OF ALL-STARS

Don’t expect one of those ragged, hastily assembled all-star units when the Leaders appears at McCabe’s on Friday and Saturday.

“I’ve been involved in a couple of all-star projects but that’s not the basis for this band coming together,” drummer Famoudou Don Moye stressed by phone from New York. “It’s a more positive thing.

“When I saw this band, I could see the potential for continuing. We’ve got a unique sound and in time you begin to develop a writing approach for the band.”

The prospect of the group’s creative evolution is an exciting one, given its stellar lineup. Moye and trumpeter Lester Bowie are members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, saxophonists Arthur Blythe and Chico Freeman are among the top young jazz talents to emerge in the past decade. Bassist Cecil McBee came to prominence with Pharoah Sanders and pianist Kirk Lightsey has played with Dexter Gordon, among others.

The Leaders were born three years ago out of informal conversations with Phillippe DeVisscher, a French promoter who booked the individual members’ bands in France. The group has worked primarily in Europe and the largely orthodox thrust of its music might surprise many listeners put off by the avant-garde label attached to groups like the Art Ensemble.

“Everybody seems to be surprised to see me doing this,” Moye acknowledged. “That’s OK with me--keep ‘em guessing. People have their own limitations and tend to pigeonhole the music, but I’ve never allowed that to stop me in any music I was playing. It’s just a logical extension of all the things I’m already doing.”

Moye, 40, grew up in a musical environment in Upstate New York, where his father was a drummer and several of his uncles played saxophone in territorial big bands during the late ‘30s. His earliest musical experience was in choirs and drum and bugle corps before he arrived in Detroit to attend Wayne State University in the mid-’60s.

Moye played with blues, rock and jazz musicians there, but his most important influence was the Artists’ Workshop, a collective that brought together visual artists, such writers as Allen Ginsburg, Gregory Corso and Michael McClure and visiting jazz groups--including the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

He joined Detroit Free Jazz late in 1967 and spent the next year playing throughout Europe and Morocco. He eventually found his way to a vibrant Parisian jazz scene well stocked with visiting or expatriate American players.

“I heard the Art Ensemble was in Europe so I was trying to gravitate toward Paris,” he recalled. “I was trying to figure out a way I could work my way into the group, because I knew they were auditioning for drummers.

“I worked my way around the scene, they called me for a gig and that was it. It was essentially a plan that worked, plus being in the right place at the right time.”

Joining the group wasn’t the only enduring legacy of Moye’s Parisian sojourn. He adopted the name Famoudou (meaning “from the land”), from the first name of a legendary Guinean drummer he learned of while studying with some African master drummers there.

Moye’s ability to play a wide range of percussion instruments that are an integral element of the Art Ensemble’s sound eased his transition into the group. One attraction the Leaders holds for him is the opportunity to shine individually as a drummer.

“I like the idea of playing just drums because I’ve been playing my multiple percussion so long,” Moye observed. “It’s not (a question of) trying to play all the instruments, but I’m always trying to paint a total picture with them--if I have my drums alone, I can just do that color.”

The Leaders isn’t his only musical venture outside the Art Ensemble. He’s involved with two percussion ensembles, worked with live theater presentations and runs the Art Ensemble’s publishing company and record label from his Chicago home base.

But Moye will probably have to make room for one more thing in his busy schedule. There’s substantial interest, including one major label, in recording the Leaders.

“They’re in the business of selling records so they know what they want,” he declared. “The days are over when they do high-risk projects--it’s never been an element of this part of this business, and it’s less so now. With a group like the Leaders, it’s logical that someone will want to do something, you know?”